|Netgalley|

Lone Wolf in Lights by Stacey Kennedy is described (on the cover, I may add) as a novel about a "fake date with a cowboy".

I'd say it's deeper than that - it's actually much more serious than I anticipated, with themes of resilience, female empowerment, and moving on.

Willow Quinn has left her old life behind, and opened a bar in a small town in Montana with her two friends. Given her own history with a violent man, she wants to create a safe space for women - and she's going to use Christmas to do it. She sets up a crafting circle so that other women who need support have a safe space to chat and make Christmas themed crafts to sell at a market (a lovely idea, I think).

Someone isn't happy about it, however - they don't like the idea of this newcomer coming in and helping women gain confidence and independence. Local cowboy Eli is smitten with Willow - and he thinks that if he's on her arm, maybe the locals will take her a little more seriously. Eli has his own past stuff to work through - but could he be ready to move on with Willow?

I dunno, lads. It doesn't really sit too well with me that in a novel about female empowerment, healing and confidence, that it takes a big strong man to come in and "save" this already very capable woman.

I'd nearly have preferred if it was just a natural romance that happened - Eli and Willow are nice characters, even if I thought the relationship lacked chemistry. The setting is lovely, and the more sensitive topics are handled well.

It's just not what I was expecting.

CW for discussion of domestic violence, rage and threatening behaviour.

This is the second in a series, although I didn't realise that, so it could be read as a standalone.

I would read more from Stacey Kennedy.

Looking for a fresh start, Willow Quinn has moved to Montana to take over the Naked Moose bar with her two best friends, Charly and Aubrey. This is the second book in the series, the first was Charly and Jaxon’s story, and although I have not read it I had no trouble following the narrative of Lone Wolf in Lights. Jaxon runs Timber Falls Ranch with the help of his friends Eli and Gunner – you can see where this is going, but it’s none the worse for being a bit predictable.
There is a strong attraction between Willow and Eli, but they both have issues to work through and stick to being friends to begin with. To convince the local community that Willow belongs in Timber Falls, Eli suggests they pretend to be dating. The fake relationship trope is one of my favourites, so that’s why I decided to give this a try. It is not a light-hearted romance novel, but deals with domestic abuse and violence, guilt and grief, though in a thoughtful and sensitive way. Willow had escaped from a violent, abusive relationship, and Eli’s sister was murdered by her abusive partner when he was not around to protect her, so they could easily relate to each other’s reluctance to get involved.
Willow has started a support group, the Empowerment Elves, to make Christmas-themed crafts to sell at the Christmas Market, and raise money for the local women’s refuge as well as providing a safe space (and friends) for anyone who needs it. As in all the best fake-relationship-themed stories, the lines between real and pretend are soon blurred. Most of all, Lone Wolf in Lights is about the power of friendship, as the members of the group pull together and support each other. I look forward to reading the final book in the series and finding out why Aubrey dislikes Gunner so much. Thanks to Mills & Boon Afterglow and NetGalley for a digital copy to review.

This was a cute, christmassy read. Willow and Eli's relationship was lovely to watch grow with the challenges they faced and I feel the characters were fleshed out quite well.
It was clear from the start that this was obviously not the first book in the series however even with that it was easy enough to catch on to what was happenning. If looking for a series as well it was clear that there will be another book to follow this if looking for a small-town cowboy romance series then this may be exactly for you. It does have a fully rounded ending though if wanting to read a standalone book.
I will say that although the pacing and flow was good sometimes the switching of POV and time could be slightly confusing but overall fairly quick to get to grips with again.
As a big note the book does cover domestic abuse, this was handled in a sensitive manner however if this is a trigger for you please do further research before starting this book.
Overall, a nice quick read, exactly the sort to get you in the holiday spirit.
Favourite Quote - Damn, she was cute.
Favourite Character - Willow

Thank you Netgalley and Mills & Boon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review -

Cosy, cowboy romance with a close-knit community.

It took me a while to read this because I fell into a little bit of a slump, but this was the perfect book to get me out of it. It ticked all my romance trope boxes - dual perspective, troubled pasts, gorgeously descriptive - and it was perfect for those heartwarming feels. Having not read the first book in the series, I appreciated the hints to the previous book, and the darker themes talked about in the book too...

But I felt that it was a little bland in terms of the writing and characters. Eli and Willow made a good couple, but for such a cosy read, it felt a little bit much with the way Eli was so instantly protective of her - especially with the small amount of time the book's plot spanned over, how he was ready to get violent at several points.

Overall, though, this is the perfect cosy read if you want something to take on you for holiday, or if you need something light (>300 pages) to get out of a slump.

I absolutely loved everything about this!! i’m such a cowboy girlie at heart and everything about this was so special

I loved the first book in the series so when I saw this book up for review I had to read it. I loved it alot and loved Willow and Eli. The story was so good and I couldn't put it down

I just loved this book and I just couldn’t put it down that I read it in one sitting. It was such a great story with wonderful characters.

I would highly recommend reading this book if you love a good story with wonderful characters.

I would like to thank Mills and Boon Afterglow and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book early.

Willow and Eli's story explores domestic violence, grief and healing through the couple's experiences. It is a poignant story and heartbreaking at times. The author handles these serious issues with insight and sensitivity. Willow and Eli's story is one I anticipated, and despite the darkness, their courage and compassion shine through, making you care what happens to them. It's a romantic love story with conflicts but still heartwarming, passionate, and ultimately satisfying. I like the festive setting and events, the strength of the female friendships and the romance.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

When I saw this book up for review, I’d heard so many good things about the first book I knew I had to apply for it even though I hadn’t read the first book yet. Before starting this book I took it upon myself to read ‘The Devil In Blue Jeans’ first. If you’re going to read this book before the first book please look up the trigger warnings as the book is largely based about surviving DV. If you’ve read the first book you can guess what this book will be about for Willow & Eli.

I really liked Willow and Eli as a couple and although their story is slow you can really see the growth happening for them both not only as a couple but individually. I really felt like they’re a good fit for each other and I adored the small town vibe. You’d never guess it from the cover but this book has a big christmas vibe and I love it. I don’t think there’s anything better than a small town at christmas, they always give found family.

I gave this book 3.5 and the only reason I didn’t give it 4 stars is due to it being third person. This is not my type of book and in the past it’s been a dnf, but I always give them a go and see if I can get into them. I have really enjoyed this series and will definitely be reading the next book.

This is book 2 in the series, I hadn’t realised that and had not read book 1. I was still able to follow the story and characters but I did feel like I would have a better background on some characters if I had read the previous book. However this book is about Willow and Eli and you get all the back story and info relevant to them within this book.

This book dealt with some very hard hitting issues and some very deep life changing feelings. I felt it was done very well and the relationship between Willow and Eli was well thought out and slowly progressed giving them each enough time to deal with their pasts and think about the future.


A lovely Christmas theme and a great small community pulling together, at times really pulling at my heart strings, especially Betty. A great romantic Christmas read.

Thank you Netgalley and Mills&Boon for my ARC copy.

This is a quick read with deeper topics, I loved Willow and Eli and thought there relationship was incredibly sweet. It has drama, darker topics but also a festive feel. It is very easy to read, the only reason I'm giving it 3 ⭐️ is because it isn't a book I feel like I will ever reread, and it had a weird layout for me on the kindle, which made it harder to read sometimes.

Editing issue with words starting 'fl' that have odd spacing meaning it reads poorly, sentences like "the f lame f lickered in a f lurry" it made it almost impossible to fully engage in the story. The story itself is not the best it feels rushed everything happening in 4 weeks and although alot kind of happens the story goes know where. It just felt like a waste of a book and it was a struggle to finish it.

Book 2 in the NAKED MOOSE series and I truly adored Eli and Willow. It dealt extremely well with some difficult topics and I found the writing to be really thoughtful. I'm looking forward to reading Gunner and Aubrey's story for sure!

I loved this second book in the series. Considering it was dealing with some pretty heavy topics it navigated them extremely well, showing that the author had really thought about and researched her writing. Eli and Willow are wonderful main characters and this was a lovely romance.
However the shinning star in this book is Betty! Having the old matriarchal wise character is alway a bonus for me and Betty is an amazing example!
I did at one point think this book was going to go down and overtly feminist route which had me worried as I thought it was going to be ruin but betty saved the day!
Read in 2 sittings and really looking forward to Gunner and Aubrey’s story!

If you are a fan of the below tropes.. then this book is for you!
- Small town romance
- Cowboys
- Fake dating
- Spice
Please read trigger warnings though as it does cover some difficult topics like domestic abuse and grief.

I loved this book, it’s a follow on from The Devil in Blue Jeans which I’d recommend reading first so you understand some of the characters and storyline.

Willow is a super sweet MFC who is very relatable and has been through some tough times and Eli the MMC is a hot cowboy (former bull rider) who has a lovely personality and would do anything for Willow. Fast forward to his suggestion that they fake date to protect her and help the bar that she owns with her friends… is it really fake though?!

Not only did I love the relationship between Eli and Willow but also her friends Charly and Aubrey who would also do anything to protect Willow and their bar that they have worked so hard to become a success.

I 100% recommend this book and can’t wait to read about Aubrey’s story!

This was a cosy Christmas read with such an important message. I really enjoyed both main characters and found them super easy to fall in love and root for!

*City girl x cowboy
*DV survivor mc
*Chosen family
*Second book in a series that follows the friendship group
*Set around Christmas
*Third person pov

Eli could easily become a lot of peoples favourite book boyfriend. He and Willow share a similar trauma, he handles her with such softness, care and patience. These two are just the sweetest and are so worthy of one another. Willow is such a strong resilient tough Christmas loving cookie and is so full of love and care in spite of her past.

Please make sure you’re okay with the trigger warnings before reading!
Thank you to Netgallery and Mills & Boons for this ARC!

Enjoying this series! There are some hard-hitting topics mixed with romance and cowboys and it’s well executed. You could maybe read as a standalone but I think you’d miss some of the info so would recommend reading in order. This’ll be a good seasonal read!

This is book 2 in the Naked Moose series and it helps to have read book one because you'll be missing some back information. I love a small town romance but I felt like this was missing something. There are some incredible side characters (especially Betty) and the friendships are beautiful. It was nice to see the guys talking about their feelings and helping each other as well.

I loved both Eli and Willow, they had great chemistry and were cute together. I think it needed a bit more emotional depth. It covers some deeper topics including loss, grief, and domestic violence but everything is resolved pretty quickly. It is a sweet holiday read though. The scene setting is done well and I loved the cosy Christmas vibes.

Lone Wolf in Lights is a small town, friend’s to lovers, fake dating romance following the story of marketing manager Willow and local horse trainer Eli as they both seek to heal from previous trauma related to domestic violence. Set at Christmas time, the story is supported by a host of lovable characters and highlights the importance of friendship and community support in times of adversity.

Overall I found this book to be incredibly predictable and it struggled to hold my attention as the conflict and plot twists were resolved too quickly to be interesting. I enjoyed the dynamic of the two main characters however found the friendships between the women in the story to be the star of the show. Lone Wolf in Lights is an incredibly cozy and fast read and will definitely hit the spot during the festive season 🎄

Thank you NetGalley and Mills & Boon for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

4.5⭐️
I had such a good time reading this and struggled to put it down! This felt like so much more than just a cutesy small town romance. It’s a heartwarming story of loss, grief, the power of good friendships and learning to love again. Not to mention the hot and quietly thoughtful cowboy meets the strong but gentle girl with a heart of gold…sign me up! I especially loved the coming together of beautiful female friendships to help heal and support one another, all while making a difference. All of this plus the magical backdrop of Christmas time in a small, charming town, makes for a cosy but moving festive read. Thank you to the publisher for the digital ARC🫶🏻